Your phone beeped with a text. You looked up from your essay and found that it was from your boyfriend. He had been away for a month and rarely had time to call so even this text was rare.

            Hey baby~ Did you miss me? I’ll be coming back tonight so study hard and I’ll see you in a few.

            You couldn’t help but smile. Finally! It took him so long to get back. But there was another part of you that hesitated. In your slightly obsessive hysteria, you had calculated how long he was gone and realized that he had been gone for a month. You haven’t seen him for 30 days, and that equated to 720 hours. When you subtracted the time that you guys had actually talked, it still came to 718.5 hours without him.

            This was your longest separation since he started training and after his debut. He was usually good with keeping a correspondence, but for some reason, he failed this time. He rarely called, 1.5 hours in a total of 30 days to be exact. Maybe there was the occasional text but otherwise, you two haven’t interacted in a long time.

            When you stop focusing on the logistics and more on the emotions, you realized that your heart just didn’t beat as fast; your smile just didn’t come as quickly as you wanted it to. You had to face it. This long month of separation had cooled down your feelings for him.

            You didn’t know how long you waited but when the knock on your door came, you flew to open it still. There was Jongup, smiling and holding out a bouquet of flowers. You stood there, waiting for the happiness. He didn’t notice and leaned into you to kiss you but you twisted to the left and his lips landed on your cheek. You hugged him loosely and tried to conjure up the feelings. In a stab of sudden panic, you ran your hand down his firm back, trying to feel the want again.

            “Hey, long time no see stranger,” he pulled away and looked at you. “You lost weight.”

            “Were you calling me fat before?” Rather than coming out playful, it actually sounded a bit bitter and you were surprised at yourself. “Can’t say that I’m at fault for this lack of contact though. What happened?”

            He shuffled nervously, still holding the flowers and you took them from him. “Come inside.” He followed you into your apartment and you suddenly felt agitated. You didn’t hate him but you were scared. You wanted the spark back, the happy feeling you get whenever you see him.

            The two of you made small talk and neither of you attempted to touch one another again. When he left, he gave you a perfunctory good night kiss on the forehead and bowed, leaving you with flowers and a sad disposition.

            Jongup knew that something was wrong. He hated that he couldn’t contact you and understood that things may have changed. It pained him to think that you would want to break up with him so he went back to the dorms and spent an entire night tossing and turning, trying to think of solutions.

            “Hyung,” he called out and four sleepy voices answered him, “Eh?”

            “What do you do to make things up for being so distant and out of touch?”

            Despite the hour, Himchan couldn’t help gloating. “Aha. So your troubles have arrived. What did I tell you kid about women? I told you to call her but you always fell asleep. I had to make you send her those texts. Are you dedicated or not?”

            “Yes. I just didn’t think that things would get so bad.” There was a thump on his mattress as Zelo tried to get him to shut up.

            “Well, you’re in deep trouble now aren’t you? How about you try to do something with a more romantic feel to it? You’re asking the right person for once. Wisdom should never be ignored.”

            “Ya, Kim Himchan shut up!” This time the leader has spoken. “Jonguppie-ah, let’s just think about this in the morning.”

            But he couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned still until he finally remembered a few months ago and then he smiled. He would make it up to you.

            You didn’t hear from him the entire next day and you felt a stab of regret. Were your feelings too obvious? You tried to call him but saw that his phone was off. You focused on your exam instead. You’ll find him later.

            Around eight, you came back from work and opened the door to your apartment. The lights were on and you instantly took out the pepper spray you always had in your bag. You had a long day what with tests and a difficult customer. One more intruder would not hurt. You stealthily peeked into the kitchen and saw that there were dishes sitting in the sink. So the trespasser decided to have a meal didn’t he?

            You crawled on the floor this time towards your dining room and that was when you heard the soft jazz music coming from your speakers. A romantic setting while he stole your goods? This burglar was too much.

            You stood, ready to face him head on when you saw a shadow cross your path. “Don’t move!” you aimed the nozzle and nearly died of shock.

            Jongup stood there in a suit and was looking at you with the same surprised expression. “You’re back! Why were you on the floor, pepper spray?” he was babbling, aftermath from the shock and you giggled.

            He was still your silly Jongie. He flashed you his lopsided smile and held out his arm for you to hold. “Will you join me to dinner?”

            You looked down at yourself. “You could have warned me,” you whined. “I look like a bum next to you.”

            He shook his head. “No. You’re still gorgeous. Join me.” He pulled you into a seat and you stared at the vegetable pizza and pasta.

            “Is this safe to consume? I saw Ta-Dah you know. Chocolate looked like she was dying.”

            He pouted and suddenly, everything was right again. Your boyfriend was here and he was back. He had gone through all this effort just for you and that was enough. You stood up and reached for him.

            Jongup raised his eyebrows, slightly confused. “I missed you,” you murmured against his lips and you felt his mouth curve into a smile as he kissed you back. You ran a hand down his back and felt that everything had gone back to normal. 

plot requested by: kyuhyun-thejumping-flamingo